For those not in the know, between their innovative arrangements, instrument swapping, scope of emotions and experiences conveyed in their songwriting, and an eclectic group of old friends and collaborators, NYC-based trio Bandits on the Run are truly living up to what they call their “ethos of artmaking” on their new album, Rough Magic.

With rotating lead vocals and varied instrumentation, Adrian Blake Enscoe (guitar & suitcase drum), Sydney Shepherd (cello), and Regina Strayhorn (accordion) combine to evoke the 60s and 70s spirit of bands like Fleetwood Mac while also carrying the sonic inventiveness of the modern folk power pop acts like First Aid Kit and Bonnie Light Horsemen, and trios like I’m With Her featuring impeccable harmonies and elevated songwriting so good they make the balancing act seem simple.

The band’s sophomore full-length, Rough Magic, is about friends — how we connect with them (or fail to), how we fight with them, and most importantly, how we love them. It’s a testament and a celebration of what’s possible when making something from nothing with your nearest and dearest. Relationships, old and new, are the heart of this LP.

1. Am I Your Mirror? [03:52]
2. O My Soul [05:41]
3. Woods Alone at Night [04:16]
4. ✧ may this love ✧ (cassette) [02:42]
5. Like a Clam [02:45]
6. White Chapel, Red Light [03:14]
7. lostlostlost [03:20]
8. Tilted Universe [04:35]
9. Song for Jon [03:58]
10. ✧ may this love ✧ (party) [02:05]
11. The Bell Rang [02:34]
12. Rough Magic [05:09]
13. Love Pass Through [05:15]
14. ✧ may this love ✧ (deux chevaux) [02:35]

Produced by William Garrett (Electracraft, lead producer Spotify Singles) and engineered by Carl Bespolka (Live at Electric Lady), and recorded over the course of three seasons in 2025, they open their new recording on the endearing Am I Your Mirror?, the veritably ethereal feel to O My Soul and the gently jaunty Woods Alone at Night and then we get gifted the acoustically harmonious ✧ may this love ✧ (cassette), the quietly melodious Like a Clam, the upbeat and joyful White Chapel, Red Light and the folk-hued lostlostlost.

Along next is the countrified twang of Tilted Universe, the softly spun Song for Jon and the tenderly harmonized ✧ may this love ✧ (party) and they are in turn backed by the airily beautiful The Bell Rang, the dulcet title track Rough Magic, the set rounding out on the formidably sculpted Love Pass Through, coming to a close on the pleasantly demure ✧ may this love ✧ (deux chevaux).

“The cheat code for us has always been that if you surround yourself with good people, chances are the art will be something you’re proud of,” Strayhorn shares. “And we are so incredibly proud of Rough Magic.”

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